An Australian woman has been sentenced to life in prison for poisoning three of her former in-laws with death cap mushrooms during a 2023 family lunch.
Erin Patterson, 50, received a life sentence with a non-parole period of 33 years on Monday for murdering three relatives of her estranged husband using the deadly fungi in beef Wellington pastries served at her home.
Why It Matters
This case represents one of Australia’s most shocking family murder cases in recent years, highlighting the deadly potential of death cap mushrooms and raising awareness about the risks of foraging wild fungi.
The incident devastated two families and brought international attention to mushroom poisoning dangers.
What To Know
Patterson served the poisoned meal to her estranged husband’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, along with Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, and her husband Ian Wilkinson, 69, in July 2023. Her estranged husband Simon Patterson was invited but chose not to attend.
The victims consumed beef Wellington pastries laced with foraged death cap mushrooms, which are among the world’s most poisonous fungi and responsible for most mushroom poisoning deaths globally.
Initially, Patterson told police she had used button mushrooms from a supermarket and dried mushrooms from an Asian grocery store. She claimed the mushrooms were dehydrated using a machine she later threw away in panic after being accused. Police found the dehydrator at a local landfill site.
Patterson herself became ill after eating the meal but recovered, maintaining she was devastated by the deaths and had done nothing wrong.
The charges against Patterson extended beyond the fatal lunch, including five additional counts of attempted murder related to three separate incidents between 2021 and 2022, where a 48-year-old man allegedly became ill after consuming meals she prepared.
Justice Christopher Beale of Victoria state Supreme Court delivered the sentence Monday, describing Patterson’s crimes as involving “an enormous betrayal of trust.”
What People Are Saying
Justice Christopher Beale said in court: “Your victims were all your relatives by marriage. More than that, they had all been good to you and your children over many years, as you acknowledged in your testimony. Not only did you cut short three lives and cause lasting damage to Ian Wilkinson’s health, thereby devastating extended Patterson and Wilkinson families, you inflicted untold suffering on your own children, whom you robbed of their beloved grandparents.”
University of Melbourne researcher Gregory Moore told Newsweek in 2023: “The death cap is more toxic [than other mushrooms] and as [the] deaths of three people in Victoria, Australia, recently showed, often fatal. The death cap contains amatoxins. They contain these chemicals to attract and kill insects that provide them nutrition.”
Victoria Police Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said in a 2023 statement: “I think it is particularly important that we keep in mind that at the heart of this, three people have lost their lives. These are three people who by all accounts were much beloved in their communities and are greatly missed by their loved ones.”
What Happens Next?
Patterson’s legal team had requested a 30-year non-parole period, while prosecutors argued she should never be eligible for parole.
With the 33-year non-parole period now set, Patterson will be eligible for parole consideration in 2056, when she would be 83 years old.
Reporting from the Associated Press contributed to this article.
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